182 Section 2 Nonstructural Repairs
is worked. This type of repair is performed when the
damaged panel is boxed, such as a quarter panel in
front of the rear wheel, or if accessing the back side
of the panel is difficult or time consuming, such as a
door panel. In a two-sided repair, both sides of the r r
panel are worked. Access to the back side of the panel
is required in a two-sided repair. An example of a two-
sided repair is damage to a quarter panel behind the
rear wheel. In this example, the back of the panel is
accessible through the trunk. Keep the following points
in mind when reading this section:
If an internal brace or frame rail is damaged, it
must be straightened before the panel is roughed
out. Braces are strong and will resist the corrective
force applied to the damaged panel.
If a change in length is present, the panel must be
lengthened. As the length is restored, the buckles
can be released.
Buckles must be released before displaced metal
is raised.
The metal in buckles and displaced metal belongs
somewhere. The purpose of roughing is to move
the metal to the right location.
Dents
Dents are caused by lateral force on low-crown
panels. When repairing a dent, care must be taken
to prevent stretching. Additionally, shrinking may be
required. The following sections, will explain how to
make several types of dent repairs.
One-Sided Repair, No Body Line
In this type of repair, roughing will prepare the panel
for filler. Low areas less than 1/8" (3.2 mm) deep will be
left in the repair area. The procedure for raising a one-
sided dent that does not involve a body line is as follows:
1. Raising—Use a DA sander to remove the paint
from the low area. A grinder would produce too
much heat. Weld a draw pin to the lowest part of the
dent and use a T-puller to pull up the low area. See
Figure 8-41. Because the damage in this example is
small, a slide hammer is not needed. Do not pull too
hard, or the damaged area will be raised too much.
To raise larger areas, use multiple pins and a slide
hammer.
2. Leveling—As the draw pin is pulled up, tap the high
area around the low area with a dinging hammer.
The draw pin supports the low area, taking the place
of a dolly. As the high area is tapped down, the low
area is brought up.
3. Shrinking—To prevent chasing the dent across the
panel, use a sharp pick hammer to create a shrink
fence around the area to be filled.
One-Sided Repair, Body Line
When performing a one-sided repair that involves
a body line, the body line should be raised first. The
body line is the strongest part of the damage. Most of
the damage adjacent to the body line will be raised with
the body line.
The steps in performing this type of repair are as
follows:
1. Raising—Remove the paint from the low area. Weld
a line of draw pins to the body line. W-shaped wire
may also be used. Attach a gang clamp to the pins
and attach a slide hammer to the gang clamp. See
Figure 8-42. Pull, slide hammer, or use a combina-
tion of pulling and slide hammering to raise the body
Grinder
Figure 8-40. Grinding across the panel will help you
identify high spots.
Puller Pu P ll er
Draw D w w w w
pin p p pi n n n n n n n n n n
Figure 8-41. A T-puller can be used to raise a small
low area.